System and method for providing services for offline servers using the same network address

ABSTRACT

A system, method and computer program product for controlling virtual private servers includes a plurality of virtual private servers running on a host computer. An address and a unique identifier can be associated with each virtual private server. A control procedure(s) is within each corresponding virtual private server, and can be used to control that virtual private server in response to control commands. A control interface is outside the virtual private servers and can be used for control of the virtual private servers in response to control commands. The virtual private server can be a Virtual Private Server. The control command can be executable by both the control procedure(s) and the control interface, or can be executable by the control interface if the control procedure(s) is unreachable, or can be executable by the control interface if the virtual private server has failed, or can be executable even if the virtual private server is inaccessible. The control interface can be accessible by using multiple addresses and identifiers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/918,031, filed on Jul. 30, 2001, which claims priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/269,655, filed on Feb. 16,2001, which are both incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to Virtual Private Servers (VPSs), andmore particularly, to control means for isolated Virtual Private Serversthat appear to a user as a stand-alone server, and more particularlystill, to control means for non-responsive or failed Virtual PrivateServers.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the popularity and success of the Internet, server technologies areof great commercial importance today. An individual server applicationtypically executes on a single physical host computer, servicing clientrequests. However, providing a unique physical host for each serverapplication is expensive and inefficient.

For example, commercial hosting services are often provided by anInternet Service Provider (ISP) (which can be a data center, an ITdepartment, a hosting service, etc.), which generally provides aseparate physical host computer for each customer on which to execute aserver application. However, a customer purchasing hosting services willoften neither require nor be amenable to paying for use of an entirehost computer. In general, an individual customer will only require afraction of the processing power, storage, and other resources of a hostcomputer.

Accordingly, hosting multiple server applications on a single physicalcomputer is desirable. In order to be commercially viable, however,every server application needs to be isolated from every other serverapplication running on the same physical host. In that context, a singlecomputer system (usually called a “host”) supports multiple virtualservers (e.g., Virtual Private Servers or VPSs), sometimes as many ashundreds or thousands of VPSs.

Many applications involving such virtualization concepts as VirtualPrivate Servers (VPS) involve the use of VPSs in the context ofwebservers. Such a VPS therefore has an assigned IP address, and variousother parameters associated with a webserver, for example, a URL, a DNSname, etc.

A typical situation where VPSs can be used is a single “box” (in otherwords, a single computer) located in a data center. The box has a hostoperating system and a plurality of VPSs (VPS1, VPS 2, VPS3, etc.), eachof which appears to the user as a single dedicated webserver. The useris therefore unaware that the VPS is something other than an entire“box” dedicated to that particular user. Typically, each VPS has acontrol panel, or some other analogous mechanism, through which the usercan control the behavior of his VPS. In other words, as an administratorof that VPS, the user has substantial control over the behavior of thatVPS, so long as the host operating system permits the actions at issue.

Similarly, the host operating system has its own control panel, which isavailable to the system administrator to control the various functionsof the host as well as to regulate the activities of the various tasks.Normally, the control panel of the host operating system is available tothe administrator of the data center, where the VPS is physicallylocated. In actuality, a typical data center can have hundreds or eventhousands of such boxes.

Each VPS usually includes a set of processes associated with that VPSand has an address, e.g., host name or IP address, by which a user canestablish connections with processes associated with a certain VPS. AVPS can have a control procedures as a common set of procedures. Acontrol procedure is typically required for such things as VPSmonitoring, configuration and for controlling the VPS. Each controlprocedure may be accessed by using an address corresponding to thatprocedure.

Since the control procedure normally running within the VPS isinaccessible if the VPS is inoperable, the control procedure(s) outsideVPS may be used for controlling VPS operation and performance.

The problem with a common approach is that the user needs to usedifferent addresses for establishing connection to the controlprocedures that in turn depend on the state of the VPS. Such a controlprocedures cannot be used to investigate whether the VPS is activebefore establishing the connection. Also, the user has to rememberproper address and configuration settings to use such a controlprocedure, which are often different from what is required for VPSadministration itself.

Furthermore, some control or monitoring activities can be performedusing either internal or external control interfaces, but the graphicaluser interface (GUI) can be different, and the user who needs to controlthe VPS often needs special training, e.g., to be able to choose theproper address not merely based on the VPS condition, but also based onthe action required.

Normally, the VPSs communicate with the outside world using I/O ports ofthe computer, which are connected to some sort of network, such as theinternet, a LAN, etc. Each such VPS is associated with an IP address, asnoted above, which the outside world uses to access that particular VPS.A problem can arise if for some reason, the VPS should “break,” orcrash, etc. In the case of a problem with physical hardware, a softwareresolution of this problem is usually not practical, other than torestart the VPS on a different machine. However, many VPS crashes occurdue to activities of the VPS itself—for example, the VPS is affected bya virus, or the user is running code that triggers a VPS crash, etc.That VPS is therefore unavailable to the user trying to access the VPS,because there is nothing responding to the user. Thus, the user has nomechanism to get a crashed VPS to respond to it, and normally has tocontact someone at the data center who can restart the VPS manually.This is frequently a problem in that it takes time, data centerpersonnel are not always instantly available, the data center itself maybe under-staffed, particularly if the VPS crash occurs at a period ofthe day when few people are at work at the data center, etc. Thus, for anumber of mission-critical, or commercially important applications, thisis unacceptable, since a crashed and unresponsive VPS can result in lostsales, poor performance, etc.

Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for remotelycontrolling and monitoring a failed VPS, without manual intervention bythe data center administrator, and for a convenient method for remotelycontrolling failed virtual servers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is related to a system and method forproviding services for virtual servers using the same network addressthat substantially obviates one or more of the disadvantages of therelated art.

In one aspect, there is provided a system, method and computer programproduct for controlling virtual private servers, including a pluralityof virtual private servers. Each virtual private server has anassociated address and a unique identifier. Each virtual private serverhas an internal control procedures operable within the virtual privateserver for control of that virtual private server in response tocommands sent by a remote user using the address and the uniqueidentifier. An external control interface is operable outside thevirtual private servers for control of the virtual private servers inresponse to the commands sent by the remote user using the address andthe unique identifier. If a particular virtual private server isnon-responsive, the external control interface can be used to managethat virtual private server using the address and identifier associatedwith that virtual private server.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description that follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Theadvantages of the invention will be realized and attained by thestructure particularly pointed out in the written description and claimshereof as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ATTACHED FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1A-1C show an exemplary VPS system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of accessing the various control means bya client in the context of multiple VPSs.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary computer or server thatcan be used in the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

The present invention is directed to a system, method and computerprogram product for managing virtual private servers, such as virtualexecution environments or virtual machines running as servers. Sincedifferent types of the virtual private servers behave similarly as faras the present invention is concerned, the discussion below will beprimarily in terms of Virtual Private Servers.

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a closed set, or collection, ofprocesses, system resources, users, groups of users, objects and datastructures. Each VPS has an ID, or some other identifier, thatdistinguishes it from other VPSs. The VPS offers to its users a servicethat is functionally substantially equivalent to a standalone serverwith remote access. From the perspective of an administrator of the VPS,the VPS should preferably act the same as a dedicated computer at a datacenter. For example, it is desirable for the administrator of the VPS tohave the same remote access to the server through the Internet, the sameability to reload the server, load system and application software,authorize VPS users, establish disk space quotas of the users and usergroups, support storage area networks (SANs), set up and configurenetwork connections and webservers, etc. In other words, the full rangeof system administrator functions is desirable, as if the VPS were adedicated remote server, with the existence of the VPS being transparentfrom the perspective of both the VPS user and the VPS administrator.

The approach described herein takes advantage of the fact that the hostoperating system has a number of mechanisms for monitoring traffic toand from the VPSs. Thus, the VPS user can be provided with tools thatreside in the host operating system (in addition to tools that residewithin the VPS) for controlling the VPS. Additionally, the approachdescribed herein takes advantage of the fact that usually the hostoperating system is aware if a particular VPS has crashed, or does notrespond to access requests at its designated IP address. The user of thecrashed VPS, using the tools provided to him by the host operatingsystem, can restart the VPS himself, without manual intervention by thedata center administrator.

The host operating system monitors the network traffic to the VPSs, butnormally takes no action with respect to it, since presumably the vastmajority of the VPSs are functioning normally. However, if one VPS is“dead” or has crashed, then traffic to that VPS can be intercepted,logged, analyzed, etc. Note also that although in the description above,there is one unique address (e.g. IP address) for one VPS, the presentapproach also applies to a situation where an IP address is shared amongseveral VPSs.

Another way to frame this approach is to view it as giving the user ofthe VPS an additional control panel in the host operating system thatacts as an intercept layer for incoming traffic. In the event of a VPScrash, the intercept layer can still respond in some fashion to theaccess request directed to the IP address of the crashed VPS, ensuringthat there is “something” at the VPS address that the user can interactwith. The intercept layer can also be customized for each VPS, either bythe data center administrator or by the VPS user, depending on theminimum functionality desired and the rights that the data centeradministrator is willing to grant to the user in these circumstances. Afairly basic right is the ability to restart the VPS (something thatinherently takes place from “outside” of the VPS). Similarly, VPS shutdown can be implemented, using the intercept layer, where the user knowsthat he can restart the VPS without data center administratorintervention.

For example, the control panel of the VPS can give the user access tosuch VPS or IP address specific information as access logs andstatistics, resource use statistics, control over various applicationsrunning within the VPS, passwords, etc. The intercept layer can monitortraffic at the protocol level, for example, identifying the URL to whichthe traffic is directed, etc. The intercept layer in effect can redirectthe access request from a “broken” IP address to its own server, whichis guaranteed, in some fashion, to be functional.

Furthermore, the provision of the host operating system level controlpanel (or intercept layer) such as described above can be implementedfor all VPSs for all time, or can be optional (for example, as an extraservice provided for a specified fee by the hosting provider, includingdifferent levels of service for different sets of commands). In the caseof the optional provision of the host operating system level controlpanel, as described above, it may be activated when there is reason tothink that the VPS is more susceptible than usual to crashes orfailures, for example, when new code is being tested in that VPS.

It should be noted that identification of the particular VPS that shouldbe controlled via a control means, such as control procedure(s) or acontrol interface, is an important aspect. Control procedure(s) shouldbe installed in a manner that allows the control procedure to beoperable inside VPS to be controlled. The control interface should beinstalled in a manner that allows the control interface to be operableoutside VPS that is being controlled. To accomplish this the controlinterface can be installed in the host operating system or in anotherVPS that may be directly supported by hardware system. Without it, theoperating system typically will be unable to determine whether aparticular action, is, or is not, allowed for that particular VPS. Notethat the control procedures and/or the control interface can beresident, or can be started or stopped on demand, e.g., whileestablishing a transmission channel. For example, the control proceduresand the control interface can be loaded on demand (i.e., started andstopped) for execution of control commands. After the user closes acontrol session, the corresponding processes or threads can becomeinactive. In other words, the user can “exit” control procedures orcontrol interface, or even “kill” it in the Task Manager.

In one embodiment of the virtual private server, the operating systemcreates a data structure that stores the information corresponding tothe VPS, which usually occurs when the VPS itself is created. Some ofthe information can be stored permanently. For example, the file systemcan contain a configuration file for each VPS. The data structure alsotypically includes a number of parameters used for the functioning ofthe VPS itself. Preferably, there is a quick way of naming the VPSs,such that searching through the data structure can be accomplishedrapidly. This can be a VPS ID, which can be, for example, a number, analphanumeric string, or similar constructs. Those objects that areunambiguously identified as being associated with a particular VPStypically cannot be re-associated with another VPS, since such apossibility usually suggests a concurrent possibility of a securityhole. In other words, a process that is “born” in the context of one VPScannot live in another VPS.

The launch of multiple VPSs in the same host in such a manner permits ahigh level of hardware server utilization. With effective VPS resourceisolation, it is possible to offer a guaranteed level of security andresource availability specified in a service level agreement (SLA).

Thus, a typical application includes a physical computing system orstand alone computer (usually called a “host”) that is configured to runmultiple isolated Virtual Private Servers (VPSs). The host includes anoperating system (OS) kernel. The kernel runs a number of processes andthreads for execution of various system related processes. The host alsoincludes a number of processes running on the hardware server thatcorrespond to the VPSs, with typically (but not necessarily) at leastone user connected to at least one VPS.

The host can include a physical memory, such as a dynamic random accessmemory (RAM) used by the various processes and threads. The hardwaresystem can also include various storage elements, such as caches, andoperating system buffers. The computer system also includes a centralprocessing unit (CPU), or optionally multiple CPUs, whose time can beshared between and among the VPSs. A number of peripheral devices can beincluded, such as disk storage devices, input/output interfaces, networkinterfaces, etc. The storage mechanisms, particularly disk storage, caninclude data files, databases, metadata storage and various otherpermanently and temporarily stored data objects.

Generally, as used in this description, the operating system kernel hasone or more “processes” running within kernel mode. The operating systemitself may be viewed as a process. The OS process has its own objectsfor its own internal use, as well as a number of objects that arerepresentative of the VPSs supported within it.

Each VPS is therefore a set of processes running in user mode withsupport from the operating system kernel. Each such VPS typically has anumber of users and groups, with objects representative of the usersassociated with the particular VPS. Also, each VPS typically has anumber of processes and threads that correspond to, for example,application software being run by a particular user.

Each VPS can have its own identifier that allows someone, e.g., anadministrator, to locate the VPS via a network interface. Examples ofsuch identifiers can be hostnames or URLs or similar “tags.” The VPSalso includes a number of interfaces that permit the users, includingthe VPS administrator, to access the various services available on theserver and on the kernel. A particular case of such services is remotecontrol, sometimes referred to as “server configuration means.” Suchinterfaces include system calls, shared memory interfaces, I/O drivercontrol (ioctls), and similar mechanisms.

Each VPS typically includes a number of processes, threads, lightweightprocesses, and other primitives for servicing the users of thatparticular VPS. Each VPS also typically has its own objects and datastructures that are associated with the processes and threads of thatparticular VPS. Each VPS may also include a number of objects and datastructures utilized by the operating system for control of that VPS.

It should be noted that in the general case, VPS processes are fullyisolated from each other and cannot affect another VPS's process,although in some cases, a single VPS can support other VPS's within it.Also, a high ranking VPS may implement control and other servicefunctions. Also, the level of isolation between VPSs can be reduced bythe host OS or by additional settings.

The VPSs can also be implemented as a software expansion of capabilitiesof Windows-based servers (i.e., “add-ons”), for example, MicrosoftWindows NT servers, Microsoft Windows 2000 servers, Microsoft WindowsServer 2003, and various derivatives thereof, by adding the missingisolation mechanisms and VPS resource management mechanisms to theoperating system kernels of those operating systems.

Each VPS offers a number of services to users of that VPS, which areimplemented as processes within that VPS. From the perspective of theuser, the existence of the VPS is transparent, such that to the user itappears that he has an entire remote server dedicated to himself. Thepresent invention provides the possibility to enable some VPS functionseven if the VPS itself is inoperable or appears unreachable to the user.

One example of a system where the present invention can be implementedwill be further described with reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C.

FIG. 1A illustrates a general case of the system with isolation of VPScomponents, and FIGS. 1B-1C, illustrate examples of the system in a webcontext wherein virtual private servers may be servers that share someresources or virtual servers with dedicating resources such as serversrunning with virtual machine monitor support.

As shown in FIG. 1A, a host computing system 102 is running a hostoperating system with a kernel 108. A VPS 104 (only one is drawn in thisfigure) typically has a unique address, e.g., its own IP address(although in some cases, the same IP address can be shared by severalVPSs). An operating system interface 114 (for example, typicallyincluding system calls, I/O controls (ioctls/fcntls), drivers, etc.), isused for communication between user space (user mode) 120 processes andkernel space (kernel mode) 108 processes. In this context, the OS kernel108 is the protected part of the operating system, typically the partthat is essential to the functioning of the host 102. Note also thatalthough only a single host 102 is shown, the invention can also be usedwith virtual environments running on a computer cluster.

122A, 122B are applications and daemons running in user space 120 of thehost OS. The server may include a number of such application programs,system services, daemons, and similar constructs typically utilized bythe users (for example, word processors, database software, webpageservers, remote procedure calls, support daemons, Telnet servers, etc.).

124A designates a set of objects associated with a particular VPS. 124Ddesignates a set of objects and data structures associated withoperating system software processes. 124C designates a set of objectsand structures that are used by the OS kernel 108 itself, for its ownpurposes. 126 designates operating system drivers, e.g., drivers of thehardware. 128 designates OS kernel buffers, caches, and other similarstructures that are used for storage and input/output operations. 130A,130B are system software processes and daemons running in the user mode.132A, 132B are applications and daemons that exist in user space 120 ofthe VPS. The objects and data structures 124A themselves may be createdin the user mode 120 by the user mode processes 132A, 132B. Otherexamples of daemons include, for example, web server daemons thatinteract with Internet Explorer, RPC port mapper servers (i.e., serversthat do not directly interface with users), etc.

134A, 134B designate communications between user space 120 processes andkernel space 108 processes. In one embodiment of the system intended touse the present invention, the isolation between the VPSs 104 isdesigned at the kernel level, and some of the VPS 104 isolation may beimplemented in user space 120.

Additionally, each VPS 104 may have its own set of resources, forexample, its own disk space, file space, its own share of common networkadapter bandwidths, etc. It will be appreciated that, in reality, anynumber of VPSs 104 may be running on the host 102, limited only byphysical system parameters, CPU speed and system bus bandwidth and otherresources limitations.

Each VPS 104 has a share of system resources allocated to it. Theresources allocated to each VPS 104 (for example, memory, file space,I/O, etc.) are isolated from each other through the use of a VPS IDand/or specific kind of addressing.

In general, in order to implement the present invention, the addressspace is divided into two areas: kernel space 108, which is used by theoperating system in kernel mode, and is normally not accessible byapplication software run by the users 112, and a set of virtual addressspaces dedicated to user processes, generally referred to as “userspace” 120, in which the VPSs 104 and the user applications 132 runningin them exist. Each VPS 104 has its own set of addresses used by userprocesses to access different data locally and across a network. This isdone in order to prevent security violations by a VPS 104. Note thatsome of the VPS functionality can exist in the kernel space 108. Some ofthe functionality can also exist in the user space 120. In the userspace 120, software 130 can support the needs of the operating systemkernel. An example of such functionality may be a daemon that gathersstatistics about the VPS 104 use. Another example may be a daemon thatmonitors VPS 104 processes, etc.

As noted above, each VPS 104 has a number of objects associated with it.Such objects are representative of the users 112, corresponding userprocesses and/or the applications being run within that VPS 104.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the host computing system 102 can run or supportmultiple VPS's 104A, 104B and 104C (note that 104C is not shown in FIG.1B), each with their own IP address and/or other identifier (such as aURL or a hostname) that allow user to locate a VPS or establishconnection to VPS procedures, e.g., through the web or network softwareinterface 106A, 106B, 106C. Note also that the dashed line 160 indicatesthat user applications, as well as system utilities, can exist in userspace 120, in addition to the system utilities that can exist in kernelspace 108.

Also, a user 112 may connect to the host web interface running, e.g., inthe user mode (see 106C).

Some VPSs, e.g., 104C, supported by the host 102 may be inoperable dueto the software faults, or may be fully inactive and present only in theform of records on storage devices. Crashes can occur accidentally, dueto an error in a particular application, or deliberately, when one userattempts a Denial of Service attack. Also, there may be applicationcrashes, webserver crashes and various other failure modes. A badlywritten script can easily use up significant CPU resources (at times,approaching 100% of the CPU resources), leaving almost nothing for otherusers. An example of a badly written CGI script is an infinite loop, asfollows:

-   -   line 1    -   goto line 1

In an exemplary embodiment, the user 112 can connect to the host webinterface 106 using identifiers of any or some of the VPSs, where forthe purpose of establishing a proper connection, a unique address isassigned to the VPS. This unique address and identifier is used tocreate a “transmission channel” in the network, for example, a packetswitching network like a TCP/IP network. This transmission channel isestablished to deliver control commands to the control procedure(s) thatis being accessed.

For purposes of illustration, FIG. 1C shows a single control interface107C outside the VPSs 104 that is external to the VPSs 104 (although theinvention is not limited to a single such control interface, andmultiple interfaces can also be used). Note that the control interface107C can be either in user space or in operating system (kernel) space.The control interface 107C is able to check and control at least someVPS conditions and settings as if it were running on a single hardwareserver corresponding to that VPS. It should be noted that the hostoperating system may have more then one control interface or controlmeans running within it.

Each VPS 104 can also have its own internal control procedure(s) runninginside the VPS 104 to perform monitoring and control functions thatthemselves can run as a user object 109 or as a kernel object 124.

The VPS's 106A, 106B are connected to users (clients) 112A and 112B, inthis case, one client 112 to each VPS 104. Here, the client 112 is anexample of a user. Another example of the user 112 may be a VPSadministrator. The user (client) 112C is connected to the host web ornetwork interface 106C.

The clients 112A and 112C can control objects of the VPSs 104A and 104Brespectively from inside VPS's 104A and 104B, and the user 112C maycontrol any VPS based on the established connection or access rightsgranted to the client 112C.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of accessing the various controlmechanisms by a client in the context of multiple VPSs 104 running onthe same server 102. In FIG. 2, 201 designates a communication channel,for example, an Internet 202 link. A plurality of VPSs 104 are runningin the host 102. Each VPS 104 has its own application software 106, itsown system software 210A, its own system libraries 212, and its owninternal control procedure(s) 214. Each VPS 104 typically has its own IPaddress (although the IP addresses can also be shared). Clients 112(which can be VPS administrators, authorized users, or non-authorizedusers, such as anonymous Internet users) use the communication channel201 to access the VPSs 104. The external control interface 107 (here,shown without the letter designation, indicating that it can work withseveral VPSs simultaneously), which is located outside the VPSs 104, inkernel space 108, can also be used to manage and control the VPSs 104.The external control interface 107 can communicate with various elementsof the VPS 104 using the interface 220. Note that the external controlinterface 107 can be made available to some users 112 (e.g., 112A, 112B)through, but not to others (e.g., 112C). Note also that the variousrights granted to the different users 112 can be different, as shown bythe fact that the interface 220A and 220B are connected to differentelements of their corresponding VPSs.

The external control interface 107 is intended for solving various kindsof problems related to the VPS 104 functioning. It is more flexible thenthe internal control procedure(s) 214 due to its ability to work withthose VPSs 104 that have crashed. Note that the external controlinterface 107 can be a set of procedures and programs, for example, eachsuch procedure or program is responsible for a single control parameter.Also, the external control interface 107 can be unique for each VPS 104,or can be common for some of VPSs 104, but not others, or can be commonto all VPSs 104.

External control interface 107 functionality, as well as the internalcontrol procedure(s) 214, provides the user 112, such as a VPSadministrator, the ability to manage the user's VPS 104 with the help ofany standard web browser on any platform. Note also that although themost common scenario occurs when the control interface 107 is used whenthe particular VPS is unresponsive, while the internal controlprocedure(s) 214 is used when the VPS is responsive, it is also possibleto use the control interface 107 to manage the VPS that is responsive(rather than its internal control procedure(s) 214).

The user 112 is able to manage the user's VPS 104, typically throughsome form of a GUI that is part of the control interface 107, in any ofthe following ways:

(a) Start, stop, or reboot the VPS;

(b) Mount and unmount the VPS in the repair mode;

(c) Reinstall the VPS;

(d) Back up and restore the VPS;

(e) Change the VPS root password;

(f) Start, stop, or restart certain services inside the VPS;

(g) View the list of VPS processes and send them signals;

(h) Connect to the VPS by SSH (Secure Shell protocol, a packet-basedbinary protocol that provides encrypted connections to remote hosts orservers);

(i) View the current resources consumption and resources overusagealerts;

(j) View logs;

(k) Configure the virtual private server;

(l) Install a user application;

(m) Uninstall a user application;

(n) Configure a user application;

(o) Customize the GUI.

There are at least two possible ways to access control to the VPS 104:

1. Using the IP address (or hostname) of the VPS 104 and TCP port of theexternal control interface 107;

2. Using the IP address (or hostname) and TCP port of the particular VPS104.

These two methods can be virtually identical regarding the servicesavailable to the control procedure(s) 214 inside the VPS 104. Forexample, if the VPS 104 is unavailable due to internal error orinoperability, the control procedure(s) 214 is also unavailable.

In either case, user 112 has to connect to the internal controlprocedure(s) 214 using the VPS ID and, optionally, the user's ID andpassword, to get access rights to the control procedure. For example,the user 112 can use the IP address (or hostname) and TCP port of hisVPS 104 by entering the address in the address line of the user'sbrowser, and his credentials (user name and password) to log into thecorresponding control procedure(s) 214. After that, the user 112 cantypically control and monitor VPS status, e.g., by means of a graphicaluser interface or simply by sending command lines to the controlprocedure.

An external control interface or internal control procedure(s) GUI canbe incorporated into the external control interface 107 or the internalcontrol procedure(s) 214 respectively, and can be implemented, e.g., byusing a web browser, to let the VPS administrator quickly perform allpossible tasks through an intuitive navigation system. Also, controlcommands may be formed by typing, for example, a command line containingcontrol commands and optionally some additional options or keys, forexample, a VPS address and unique identifier for the VPS.

GUI pages can have a menu and a status bar and can provide links toother pages where the user 112 can perform various tasks. In oneembodiment, all the links are grouped into four groups: VPS Management,VPS Services, Logs and Other, the names of these groups being linksthemselves. When performing a particular task, the user 112 can firstclick on the name of the group to open the corresponding dashboard andthen choose a task, or the user 112 can select the task at once on themenu under the corresponding group. The links on the menu do thefollowing:

VPS Management: Opens the VPS Management dashboard, where the user 112can learn more about various VPS management tasks and perform any ofthem.

Start/Stop VPS: Opens the page where the user 112 can start, stop, orreboot the current VPS 104.

Change Password: Opens the page for changing the VPS root password.

Reinstall: Opens the Reinstall VPS page, where the user 112 can recoverthe original template files of the VPS 104 in case something went wrong.

Repair Mode: Opens the page where the user 112 can start the VPS 104 ina so-called “repair mode,” in order to perform command line checks andfixes.

Backup: Opens the page where the user 112 can manage the VPS 104backups.

Resources: Opens the page where the user 112 can learn about the currentconsumption of hardware resources by the user's VPS 104.

VPS Services: Opens the Service Management dashboard, where the user 112can learn more about various service management tasks and perform any ofthem.

System Processes: Opens the list of processes running inside the VPS 104with the opportunity to send various signals to any of them.

Connect to VPS via SSH: Opens an SSH terminal window for connecting tothe VPS 104 via SSH.

Logs: Opens the Logs dashboard, where the user 112 can learn more aboutvarious logs available for the VPS 104 and view any of them.

Status Changes: Opens the list of status changes the VPS 104 hasrecently undergone.

QoS Alerts: Opens the list of alerts of the VPS 104 overusing anyhardware resources or coming close to the usage limits imposed on it.

Actions Log: Opens the list of actions the user 112 has recentlyperformed with the current VPS 104.

Help: Opens the help system.

Sign out: Following this link logs the user 112 out of controlprocedure(s) for certain VPS.

The status bar can include the following elements:

(a) The ID or the host name of the current VPS 104;

(b) The current state of the VPS 104;

(c) The percent of the available disk space used by the VPS 104.

Status modes monitored and displayed with the control means can be asfollows:

Running: The VPS 104 is running; therefore, it can only be rebooted orstopped.

Down: The VPS 104 is stopped; therefore, it can only be started.

Under repair: The VPS 104 is being repaired. The user 112 cannot performany action on the VPS 104 until the user 112 presses the Finish Repairbutton on the Repair Mode page.

In addition to these states, a VPS 104 can be in one of the transitionalstates: mounting, mounted, starting, stopping, etc. When in atransitional state, the user 112 cannot, in a safe manner, perform anyaction on the VPS 104 until the transitional state has ended. Thedescription of all possible VPS statuses is provided in the VPS Statussection.

To view details on the resources consumption, the user 112 can followthe corresponding link to display the current consumption of specificresources by the user's VPS 104. The possible page of interest can be aSystem Processes page. This page may reflect which process(es) arerunning inside the VPS 104 so the user 112 can control the processes,particularly those processes that cause problems while the VPS 104 isrunning. For example, the user 112 might want to terminate or kill theoffending process. Otherwise, the system performance can continue to below for a long time. The System Processes may be displayed, e.g., in theform of a table reflecting all the running processes inside the VPS 104.The table can provide the following information:

(a) The process ID;

(b) The absolute priority of the process assigned to it by the processscheduler. The range can be, e.g., from 0 (the highest priority) to 39(the lowest priority). The normal process priority is 30;

(c) The relative priority of the process assigned to it by the user 112.A negative value means that the user 112 has manually increased thepriority, a positive value means that he decreased it;

(d) The size of physical memory the process really uses (in Kilobytes).

(e) The state of the process. The possible states may be, for example:R—runnable, on the run queue; S—sleeping; T—traced or stopped;D—uninterruptible sleep; Z—defunct, “zombie”. If two letters are shown,the second letter means the following: W—has no resident pages;<—high-priority process; N—low-priority task; L—has pages locked inmemory;

(f) The percent of CPU time the process is currently using;

(g) The percent of the RAM size the process is currently using;

(h) The total amount of CPU time the process has used so far;

(i) The command that is used to launch the process.

As shown in FIG. 2, a user application or a client 112 calls theexternal control interface 107, via the physical network 202, to executea control command (e.g., kill the process inside the VPS 104). Since theVPS 104 represents a fully functioning OS, such a mechanism, e.g., TaskManager, can be called remotely using the VPS IP address and acorresponding login and password, that grants administrator's rights tothe user 112.

As noted above, each VPS 104 has a share of system resources allocatedto it. The resources allocated to each VPS 104 (for example, memory,file space, I/O, etc.) can be isolated from each other through the useof a VPS ID and other specific kind of addressing.

In such a manner, the process can be “killed” safely as far as otherVPSs are concerned, since only the process corresponding to a particularVPS 104 instance will be “killed” inside the VPS 104. If the processcauses the VPS's operating system to be unstable or unreachable, thesimple access to the host 112 operating system does not resolve theproblem of handling this process, since different VPSs can use differentinstances of the same process. In such a case, a control mechanism iscreated outside VPS 104 to provide access to VPS applications andlibraries using a common set of identifiers with the VPS 104 beingcontrolled.

Thus, in the preferred approach, the control interface 107 outside theVPS 104 (which itself can be one or several procedures or modules) cancontrol or check internal objects and data structures in a safe manner.The external control interface 107 can be unique for a particular VPS104, or can be associated with a number of different VPSs 104simultaneously. (For example, the usage of different IDs or IP addressesgrants access to different VPS settings).

It should be noted that the host operating system kernel 108, whenservicing a user's call, must be able to work with a representation ofan object within the dedicated VPS 104 defined by the VPS's uniqueidentifier.

In one embodiment, a unique identifier, such as a URL or a hostname, isused for assigning an address of the VPS 104. A typical example of suchan address is an IP address of the webserver (or DNS) name, or networkSMB name in MS Network context, used for access of MS Windows sharedresources, or a telnet server address, used for interactive login. Whenchoosing a particular address, the user 112 must be certain that he willbe accessing the server associated with that IP address, and no other,and that someone trying an address that does not belong to that VPS 104will not be accessing that VPS 104.

Another example of VPS identification is the credentials necessary forsystem login and authentication. In that case, even after entering alogin using the common IP for different VPSs 104, the user 112 will onlybe authenticated for that VPS 104, where he is registered as a user.

The VPS functionality for each VPS 104 typically includes creation of acorresponding file structure and files to be used by the VPS 104. Thesecan include, e.g., administrative files, user files, etc. Informationrelating to the particular VPS 104 is registered in a registrationdatabase and various other similar structures maintained by theoperating system. This information is intended to enable continuedfunctioning of the VPS 104. Additionally, each VPS 104 may be allocatedits own IP address or group of IP addresses and other network resources.

The VPS ID discussed above can be similar to a mark or a handle, or asimilar identifier or data structure that can be used for VPS 104tracking. Thus, the access to VPS 104 and to objects associated withthat VPS 104 via control means may be realized by use of VPS ID or VPSIP address.

Although the description above is in terms of a single host 102 runningmultiple VPSs 104, the invention is equally applicable to a servercluster, where multiple hosts 102 are tied together. Also, the presentinvention is applicable to any type of server, for example, a webserver, a LAN server, a WAN, an intranet server, etc.

An example of the host 102 is illustrated in FIG. 3. The host 102includes one or more processors, such as processor 301. The processor301 is connected to a communication infrastructure 306, such as a bus ornetwork). Various software implementations are described in terms ofthis exemplary computer system. After reading this description, it willbecome apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implementthe invention using other computer systems and/or computerarchitectures.

Host 102 also includes a main memory 308, preferably random accessmemory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 310. The secondarymemory 310 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 312 and/or aremovable storage drive 314, representing a magnetic tape drive, anoptical disk drive, etc. The removable storage drive 314 reads fromand/or writes to a removable storage unit 318 in a well known manner.Removable storage unit 318 represents a magnetic tape, optical disk, orother storage medium that is read by and written to by removable storagedrive 314. As will be appreciated, the removable storage unit 318 caninclude a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computersoftware and/or data.

In alternative implementations, secondary memory 310 may include othermeans for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loadedinto host 102. Such means may include, for example, a removable storageunit 322 and an interface 320. An example of such means may include aremovable memory chip (such as an EPROM, or PROM) and associated socket,or other removable storage units 322 and interfaces 320 which allowsoftware and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit 322to host 102.

Host 102 may also include one or more communications interfaces, such ascommunications interface 324. Communications interface 324 allowssoftware and data to be transferred between host 102 and externaldevices. Examples of communications interface 324 may include a modem, anetwork interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, aPCMCIA slot and card, etc. Software and data transferred viacommunications interface 324 are in the form of signals 328 which may beelectronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of beingreceived by communications interface 324. These signals 328 are providedto communications interface 324 via a communications path (i.e.,channel) 326. This channel 326 carries signals 328 and may beimplemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, an RF link and othercommunications channels. In an embodiment of the invention, signals 328comprise data packets sent to processor 301. Information representingprocessed packets can also be sent in the form of signals 328 fromprocessor 301 through communications path 326.

The terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” areused to generally refer to media such as removable storage units 318 and322, a hard disk installed in hard disk drive 312, and signals 328,which provide software to the host 102.

Computer programs are stored in main memory 308 and/or secondary memory310. Computer programs may also be received via communications interface324. Such computer programs, when executed, enable the host 102 toimplement the present invention as discussed herein. In particular, thecomputer programs, when executed, enable the processor 301 to implementthe present invention. Where the invention is implemented usingsoftware, the software may be stored in a computer program product andloaded into host 102 using removable storage drive 314, hard drive 312or communications interface 324.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment, it should be apparent tothose skilled in the art that certain advantages of the described methodand apparatus have been achieved. It should also be appreciated thatvarious modifications, adaptations, and alternative embodiments thereofmay be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention. Theinvention is further defined by the following claims.

1. A system for controlling virtual private servers comprising: aplurality of virtual private servers running on a single host computersystem and sharing a single instance of a host operating system, eachhaving an associated address and a unique identifier; each virtualprivate server responding to requests from clients; each virtual privateserver including an internal control procedure operable within thatvirtual private server for control of that virtual private server inresponse to commands sent by a remote user using the address and theunique identifier; and an external control interface running on the hostcomputer system and operable outside the virtual private server forcontrol of the virtual private server in response to the commands sentby the remote user using the address and the unique identifier, wherein,if a particular virtual private server is non-responsive, the externalcontrol interface can be used to manage that virtual private serverusing the address and the unique identifier associated with that virtualprivate server.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the commands areexecutable by both the control procedure and the control interface. 3.The system of claim 2, wherein the commands are executed by the controlinterface when the control procedure is unreachable.
 4. The system ofclaim 3, wherein the commands are executed by the control interface whenthe virtual private server has failed.
 5. The system of claim 1, whereinthe control interface is accessible using multiple addresses.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the commands are used to control userapplications running in at least one of the virtual private servers. 7.The system of claim 1, wherein the address is an IP address.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the address is a hostname.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the command comprises any of: start/stop the virtualprivate server; change the virtual private server passwords; reinstallthe virtual private server; repair the virtual private server; backupthe virtual private server; update parameters of the level of theconsumption of resources; process control commands for the virtualprivate server; check status of the virtual private server; configurethe virtual private server; installing user application; uninstallinguser application; and configuring user application.
 10. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the virtual private servers are supported by the samehost OS kernel.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual privateservers are isolated from each other.
 12. The system of claim 1, whereinthe control interface is activated upon failure of any of the virtualprivate servers.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the controlprocedure is activated upon request from the user.
 14. A method ofmanaging virtual private servers, comprising: launching a plurality ofvirtual private servers on a single host computer system and sharing asingle instance of a host operating system, each virtual private serverresponding to requests from clients; assigning an address and a uniqueidentifier to each virtual private server; creating conditions forstarting, outside the plurality of virtual private servers, a controlinterface running on the host computer system and accessible to a remoteuser; creating conditions for starting, in each virtual private server,a control program for managing that virtual private server; setting up acontrol command execution policy that defines whether (a) the controlprogram or (b) the control interface manages that virtual privateserver; receiving a control command from the remote user; and based onthe control command execution policy, managing that virtual privateserver by executing the control command in one of (a) the controlprogram of that virtual private server using the address and the uniqueidentifier associated with that virtual private server, and (b) thecontrol interface using the address and the unique identifier associatedwith that virtual private server, wherein selection of (a) or (b) istransparent to the remote user.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein thecontrol command is executable by both the control program and thecontrol interface.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the controlcommand is executable by the control interface when the control programis unreachable.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the control commandis executable when the virtual private server is inaccessible.
 18. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the control interface is accessible usingmultiple addresses.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein the controlinterface and the control program use the same identifiers, and thecontrol interface is available when any control program is unavailable.20. The method of claim 14, wherein execution of the control commanddepends on a state of the virtual private servers.
 21. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the control command comprises any of: start/stop thevirtual private server; change the virtual private server passwords;reinstall the virtual private server; repair the virtual private server;backup the virtual private server; update parameters of the level of theconsumption of resources; process control commands for the virtualprivate server; check status of the virtual private server; configurethe virtual private server; installing user application; uninstallinguser application; and configuring user application.
 22. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the control interface is activated upon failure of anyof the virtual private servers.
 23. The method of claim 14, wherein thecontrol program is activated upon a request from the user.
 24. Themethod of claim 14, wherein, when the virtual private server is notresponsive, the control command execution policy sets up the controlinterface for managing the control command.
 25. A method of managing avirtual private server, comprising: assigning a unique identifier to thevirtual private server, wherein the virtual private server virtualizes ahost computer and responds to requests from clients; assigning anaddress to the virtual private server; installing a control proceduresoperable inside the virtual private server for managing, in response toa user command, that virtual private server; installing a controlinterface running on the host computer, operable outside the virtualprivate server, for managing, in response to the user command, thevirtual private server; receiving the user command from a remote user ofthe virtual private server; selection of one of (a) the controlinterface and (b) the control procedures for managing the virtualprivate servers; and managing the virtual private server based on thecommand, wherein selection of one of (a) the control interface and (b)the control procedures for managing the virtual private servers istransparent to the remote user.
 26. The method of claim 25, furthercomprising establishing, using the address, a transmission channelbetween the remote user and one of the control interface and the controlprocedures.
 27. The method of claim 26, further comprising transmitting,using the unique identifier, the command from the remote user via thetransmission channel.
 28. A computer program product for managingvirtual private servers, the computer program product comprising acomputer useable storage medium having computer program logic recordedthereon for controlling at least one processor, the computer programlogic comprising: computer program code means for launching a pluralityof virtual private servers on a single host computer system and sharinga single instance of a host operating system, the virtual private serverresponding to requests from clients; computer program code means forassigning an address and a unique identifier to each virtual privateserver; computer program code means for starting, outside the pluralityof virtual private servers, and running on the host computer system, acontrol interface accessible to a remote user; computer program codemeans for starting, in each virtual private server, a control programfor managing that virtual private server; computer program code meansfor setting up a control command execution policy that defines whether(a) the control program or (b) the control interface manages thatvirtual private server; computer program code means for receiving acontrol command from the remote user; and computer program code meansfor managing based on the control command execution policy, that virtualprivate server by executing the control command in one of (a) thecontrol program of that virtual private server using the address andidentifier associated with that virtual private server, and (b) thecontrol interface using the address and identifier associated with thatvirtual private server, wherein selection of (a) or (b) is transparentto the remote user.